6:08 pm  AHST 12/07/2022
 8:08 pm    PST  12/07/2022

 11:08 pm    EST  12/08/2022
 4:08 am   GMT  12/08/2022

At this Full Moon, the first standout planetary appearance, both visually in the sky and in the chart, is the conjunction of Mars and the Moon. Within 10 minutes of the exact Sun/Moon opposition (the definition of a Full Moon) the Moon will be exactly conjoined with Mars. The Moon represents our feelings, habits and subconscious drives, and Mars is the activator planet, intensifying the power of any planet it forms an aspect to. However, in this case, Mars is retrograde, meaning its activation energy is turned toward our inner world. And since both are in Gemini, this has to do with how we think, communicate, and perceive our reality. And since the Full Moon is always a reflected light, we are in the midst, and in the mists of reflecting upon our reality, how we put together the information we receive to create our day to day world view of our experience. Are we victims of circumstance? How do we frame the suffering we experience?

The “mists” are coming from Neptune, powerfully aspected and made large by its conjunction to Jupiter, both in the deep, watery sign of Pisces. Neptune forms a square aspect (90˚) to the Sun and Moon and Mars, as well as to Venus at this point in time. Very watery indeed! Neptune rules the deepest, most unfathomable parts of our being, having to do with visions, dreams, and the kinds of experiences that are profound and moving. But in its squares to all the personal planets (even Mercury is square to Jupiter, and thus by association, to Neptune) we cannot be hoping for any kind of crystal clarity during this half of the Moon cycle. We can, however, become in touch with deep feelings that have meaning for us. The term feeling tone indicates a larger awareness of one’s experience that is not associated with rational thought or emotion, but of something deeper than our conscious awareness which speaks to us of something true from a more profound level. If we can suspend our preconceived assumptions about the world and allow Neptune’s music and imagery to flow through us, this is an optimal time to experience these kinds of states.

Neptune has also begun to move direct, since the 3^rd of this month, and so it can be much more accessible to our day to day awareness, if we are in touch with its guiding energies. And also, we need to be aware that Neptune can be misinterpreted and lead to self-deception, and fantasies that we take to be real, especially if our attachments to wanted outcomes take precedence.

With such strong Moon/Mars retro in Gemini energy, our thoughts could become quite scattered and directionless, or even reactive. Remember that the Sun is in Sagittarius, and sheds light onto the energies of faith, of the larger picture, of using our accumulated wisdom to deal with the most difficult aspects of living on Planet Earth in this most challenging time.

The challenges can be represented by Uranus, the planet of the revolutionary, which brings the energies of reform and a shedding of the old and outworn ways of being. Being conjoined with the North Node, which is our future, and in the sign of Taurus, we are being asked universally to address the continued arrogance of humanity’s assumptions of supremacy, and how they have affected and disturbed the natural order of the planet’s ecosystems.

Pluto is once again beginning its slow march toward that third and last return this year to the degree it was when the US was created 246 years ago. Partly, Pluto’s “job” is to strip away artifice and obsolete practices and to expose them to our awareness, so that we can make new choices. Since its measured movement went direct on October 9^th, it will cross that return degree on December 28^th, notably the same day that Mercury goes retrograde. Interestingly, Mercury will be conjunct Pluto on that day, too. Powerful!

We are seeing the exposure of the lies that the US has told the world: its abuse of the principles of democracy, its colonialism, its decimation of Native populations, etc. And this applies not only to the US but all countries around the world. This is a sea change, a paradigm shift, and it’s going to be a wild ride, particularly over the next year, 2023. More on this as we navigate these seismic shifts in our awareness.

For now, if we can use the lens of our observations to take a wide angle view, or mountaintop view, of what’s happening around us, we can find a way to “keep the faith” of the necessity of these changes, both personal and global. Keeping the faith also means seeking sustenance by joining together to make new community, to see our suffering as a birthing process, an awakening of our calling to change, amend our ways, and heal ourselves and the planet.